Sparks fly when an ambitious rules-bound lawyer clashes with a maverick new hire who threatens his chances of partnership—and the walls he's built around his heart.
When Kriya follows her boss and joins a new law firm, she’s looking for a fresh start after a messy break-up. Sharing an office with her work nemesis was not what she had in mind.
Charles has always played by the rules, and had clear boundaries until Kriya crashed into his space. A few too many unfortunate professional encounters has him convinced this attractive girl can’t stand him, and things only get more awkward as they are forced to work so closely together . . .
But just as they’re figuring out how to navigate this frenemy relationship, Kriya needs Charles’ pretend they’re dating so her boss will stop hitting on her. As they have to keep up the facade in front of those closest to them, it soon becomes less clear whether they're enemies, friends – or something else.
Award-winning author Zen Cho delivers a sparkling and witty rivals-to-lovers romance reminiscent of Sally Thorn's The Hating Game and Sajni Patel's The Trouble with Hating You.
When Kriya follows her boss and joins a new law firm, she’s looking for a fresh start after a messy break-up. Sharing an office with her work nemesis was not what she had in mind.
Charles has always played by the rules, and had clear boundaries until Kriya crashed into his space. A few too many unfortunate professional encounters has him convinced this attractive girl can’t stand him, and things only get more awkward as they are forced to work so closely together . . .
But just as they’re figuring out how to navigate this frenemy relationship, Kriya needs Charles’ pretend they’re dating so her boss will stop hitting on her. As they have to keep up the facade in front of those closest to them, it soon becomes less clear whether they're enemies, friends – or something else.
Award-winning author Zen Cho delivers a sparkling and witty rivals-to-lovers romance reminiscent of Sally Thorn's The Hating Game and Sajni Patel's The Trouble with Hating You.
Title: Behind Frenemy Lines
Author: Zen Cho
Publisher: Bramble
Expected Publication Date: July 1, 2025
Review:
Thank you to Tor Publishing Group/Bramble and Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I love a good enemies to lovers romance. Add in a fake dating situation and I should have been sold. The blurb for this one made it sound like it would fit this bill perfectly. Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me.
I think the writing style is what initially threw off the pacing of this book for me. I love a dual POV romance because you really get to see what is on the mind of the FMC and the MMC. I enjoyed Kriya's POV enough. I could see how she was relatable. But Charles's POV was totally off for me. At first, I thought maybe the author was portraying him as someone on the spectrum. I hadn't remembered reading that in the blurb, but thought maybe I missed it. But I didn't from what I could tell in the story. It was never mentioned but his POV was full of fragmented sentences. Like we were just hearing things that were maybe in his head. I did understand he was being portrayed as socially awkward, but It was hard for me to read and definitely threw off the cadence of the story.
If I could have gotten past the MMCs POV and how it was written, I could not get past all the law speak and jargon. There was so much of the work, the characters never had any time for chemistry. So when they got together I just didn't feel their pull to each other at all. And there was no build up. They went from enemies to sleeping together so quickly. And it wasn't hate sex, it was just them getting together. It did not work for me at all.
Given the blurb, I also thought there would be more romance and spice. This book really had neither.
I did like the cultural references and learned a bit about both the main characters's backgrounds during the story.
Overall, I would not classify this story as a romance at all. It was more a story about a woman learning to stand up for herself and becoming more independent and confident with who she is. It's also about a woman who stands up against sexual harassment in the workplace. For me this one missed the mark and I feel like the blurb needs to be reworked to show it really is about the workplace and the misogyny that exists there. While this story wasn't for me, I'm sure others will find it pleasurable to read.
Author:
I was born and raised in Malaysia, and live in the UK.
I write historical and contemporary fantasy and romance. The overarching theme is probably best summarised as “fluff for postcolonial book nerds”. My newest novels are The Friend Zone Experiment and Behind Frenemy Lines, contemporary romances set in London’s East and Southeast Asian community, inspired by the romance, humour and drama of kdramas.
My writing has been awarded the Crawford, British Fantasy and Hugo Awards, and the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize. I’ve also been shortlisted for the World Fantasy, Lambda and Locus Awards, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.
My literary agent is Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates. For film/TV rights, I am represented by Angela Cheng Caplan of Cheng Caplan Company, Inc.
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